Caspian Impact Investments

In 2013, after two limited-life equity funds, we pivoted to debt and to an operating-company model. This was an opportunistic broadening of our strategy to address the need for debt among fast-growing, early-stage impact enterprises that are otherwise compelled to grow their businesses through dilutive equity. Our thesis for Caspian Debt was that relatively early-stage SMEs could be deserving of non-collateralized debt, provided they are assessed appropriately and not force fit into a standardized model suitable only for mature, asset-heavy businesses.

While we continued our focus on Financial Inclusion, SME Finance, and Affordable Housing — sectors in which we had significant investment experience — we added three new sectors: Food & Agriculture, Clean Energy, and Healthcare. Investors in Caspian Debt include Gray Ghost, FMO, Triodos, and the Samridhi Fund (SIDBI). The company was also supported by crucial debt and guarantee partnerships, including with the U.S. DFC and USAID.

In the twelve years that Caspian Debt was active, it built a reputation as a leader in impact debt, having disbursed approximately INR 4,000 Cr to more than 250 portfolio companies and had excellent portfolio quality throughout. With loans ranging from INR 10 Mn to INR 150 Mn, the portfolio was carefully curated. The direct impact of a lender like Caspian Debt was that we are willing to make the loans that traditional financial institutions would not. Our capital provided the most lift in cases where other institutional debt was scarce, for lack of scale, collateral and/or profitability.

With effect from 1 November 2025, Caspian Debt became Udhyam Debt, following its merger into BlackSoil Capital Pvt. Ltd. This strategic combination of two strong credit institutions aims to achieve scale and efficiency in the continued mission to provide flexible, alternative credit solutions to underserved new-economy businesses. Caspian is a shareholder in the merged entity, BlackSoil Capital.